Bad things came in threes for the Bayfield High School boys basketball team Friday night.

In the first half, it was Monte Vista’s Keith Romero from beyond the 3-point line, scoring three 3s including a buzzer beater to keep the Pirates up 23-20 at halftime.

In the second half, it was three consecutive Bayfield turnovers to start play, allowing the Pirates to build a 27-20 lead, three more consecutive turnovers on the Wolverines’ final three possessions and three Monte Vista free throws to put the victory out of reach.

The Intermountain League rival Pirates won 54-49 on Bayfield’s senior night Friday at BHS.

“They had us where they wanted us,” Bayfield head coach Bill Hesford said. “We don’t want to be in that situation down the stretch.”

The Bayfield boys (2-14 overall, 0-5 IML) took their first lead of the second half at 47-46 on a Dillon Hoselton layup, assisted by John Fisher. The Pirates answered with a layup of their own to go back up.

But Romero missed his one-and-one foul shot when Fisher fouled out next, allowing the Wolverines to take back the lead at 49-48 on Joey Webb’s pull-up jumper with 1:25 remaining.

Romero had another opportunity to put the Pirates back in control when he was fouled on the following 3-point shot, but he only hit one of his free throws, tying the game, before Monte Vista caught the Wolverines in transition with a missed shot on the next possession to take a 51-49 lead.

From there, it was a Bayfield travel and two poked-away-from-behind turnovers, two Romero free throws and a Randy Velarde free throw for the final margin.

Romero finished with 21 points to lead all scorers. Velarde added 11.

“Monte Vista played well,” Hesford said. “They ran the floor well.”

Bayfield did that well, too, but struggled to make shots from the perimeter.

“Some nights we can’t shoot,” Bayfield’s Fisher said.

Preston Hardy finished with a team-high 10 points for the Wolverines, followed by nine from Hoselton and eight each from seniors Tyler Kerr and Webb. Fisher finished with six, but Hesford also praised his hard work on the boards. Senior Nevin Lister added two points.